A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
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Rayna Klejeski knew she and her Barnum girls basketball teammates had the potential to be successful this winter. But even the Bombers senior superstar was a bit wide-eyed with their results. A 25-win season for the first time in recent memory and a resurgence of the tiny town's rich basketball tradition resulted in bittersweet hardware last Friday when Barnum fell to Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 76-50 in the Section 5A championship at St. John's University in Collegeville. Although there was a... Full story
Steve Webb, 69, of Carlton and formerly of Moose Lake, died peacefully March 7, 2023 at his home. He was born on March 14, 1953 in Fergus Falls to Richard and Lillie Webb. At the age of 3, Steve moved with his family to Moose Lake, where he graduated from Moose Lake High School. He later attended Duluth Area Vocational Technical Institute. Steve worked at USG in Cloquet for more than 44 years. On March 12, 1994, Steve married Susan Webb at Elim Lutheran Church in Blackhoof Township. Steve was a... Full story
When Barnum residents elected Dale Riihiluoma as mayor, running unopposed, in November, it was the culmination of decades of public service. It was also something his wife of 47 years, the late Diane Riihiluoma, didn't want to see happen. Diane passed away in November 2021 after three decades of battling cancer. She tended to favor blending in over standing out. "When Diane was still living she never wanted me to be mayor - it was too far out there," Dale said. "'You're not doing that,' she'd...
Calling all farmers. Increase your forage supply, save fuel, reduce labor, and improve soil health while getting paid up to $80 per acre … and that’s no empty promise. The Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District was recently awarded over $14,000 in funding through the state of Minnesota to assist landowners in improving and renovating hayfields or pastures and planting cover crops. The Carlton SWCD and the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program, in partnership with the University of Minnesota Extension, will hold a joi... Full story
After taking off her sophomore season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Barnum's Allison Marine made the decision to return to the basketball court the following year because of her teammates. And those Bomber mates are glad she did. Marine scored a game-best 17 points and none bigger than when the now 6-foot-3 senior snagged an offensive rebound and made a putback to put Barnum up for good in their wild 44-42 win over Upsala in a Section 5A semifinal Tuesday night before a packed... Full story
Robotics, where teamwork extends beyond the team. They call it a robotics competition, but it's really a collaboration. It starts by entering events like last week's FIRST Robotics Regional Competition in Duluth. Team members had to work together to design a robot according to specifications outlined just a few short months ago, and it had to pass inspection before head-to-head scrambles in the arena began Thursday. For Cloquet's Ripsaw team, it also meant sharing a practice space in February...
It was easy to tell which group hadn't been to the Beargrease Derby before, as two sets of scouts made their way down the trail on three-person skis. It was the group that kept falling over that was obviously new to the exercise in teamwork. All six scouts were part of Troop 221 out of Superior, but at opposite ends of the age spectrum. Finn, Grady and Jonah were the youngsters. Teenagers Oliver, Daniel and Keith had been there before, and had mostly mastered the art of walking in unison on... Full story
High-school students from more than 50 area schools in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa — with teams from Cloquet, Esko, Carlton and Barnum registered — will have the opportunity to showcase their hard work after an intense six weeks of designing and building an original robot in the FIRST robotics competition in Duluth. The competition runs through Saturday at the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center. There will be 120 teams of students demonstrate their skill for science, mathematics, and technology. They will compete for honors and rec...
Icy roads did not deter a dozen concerned Kettle River citizens from attending Monday's Carlton County Board meeting to ask why the grader was pulled from the Kettle River area county garage. "Six months ago the Kettle River people were assured the county garage would stay open," Bob Hattenberger said to county commissioners. "No one from the county let us know the garage was empty. Our first inkling the man and machine were gone was when we saw no tracks in the snow in front of the garage. We...
The girls high school section basketball tournaments opened Monday across Minnesota. In Section 7A the first-round games featured Wrenshall at Littlefork-Big Falls, while Fond du Lac was scheduled to play at Nashwauk-Keewatin. Nashwauk-Keewatin was a forfeit winner when Fond du Lac was unable to field a complete team. The Spartans moved to the second round on Thursday at Cromwell-Wright. Wrenshall struggled to find an answer to Kora Gustafson of Littlefork-Big Falls, who pumped in 34 points toward a 58-30 victory over the Wrens. The Wrens were... Full story
A Barnum man faces charges of allegedly raping a young girl who had previously looked up to him as a father figure. Chad Arnold Connor, 47, was arraigned in Sixth District Court-Carlton County on Feb. 9 on two charges of felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13. According to the criminal complaint, Connor is 33 years older than his alleged victim. Now a teenager, the girl told her mother and police in December that Connor had raped her starting when she was about 6 years old and would spend time at his trailer house...
Barnum's Rayna Klejeski and Allison Marine combined for 51 points Thursday night as the dynamic duo helped to lead the Bombers to their 21st win of the season, defeating Moose Lake/Willow River 65-31 in girls basketball. "It's a tough matchup for just about every team, and we had the same problem," said Rebels coach Zak Mathson of Barnum's two tall post players. "We tried to double them when they got down low, but if the double team got there late then they had an easy layup, or Rayna would hit... Full story
The snow began just outside of Madison, Wisconsin. We had been driving north for days, watching the landscape change from green to brown until the world looked like an old black and white photo. And then it was as though we entered a snowglobe. The landscape was blanketed in white. Ahead, a string of brakelights snaked around the curve. The road was encrusted in ice. There had been a crash, and the interstate was closed in both directions. We took a detour that wound through hilly Wisconsin farm...
Why has the county pulled workers from the county garage in Kettle River when they had promised that they will not close the garage? They claim it is because of the cost of fuel, but the contract for the fuel is the same for Kettle River as it is for Barnum, so how can that be the reason? It takes more fuel for the trucks to come from Barnum to Kettle River than if they leave from the Kettle River garage. Do we have to contact our county commissioners again? The 100th birthday party for Niilo Isaacson is at the Cromwell Pavilion 1-4 p.m....
After 21 years without a section win, the Esko High School One Act play is now returning to the State One Act Play Festival Friday, Feb. 10, for the second year in a row. After placing second at subsections on Jan. 28, Esko took first place at the Section 7A competition on Feb. 4. The 19-student cast and crew performed "The Inexplicable Chaos Factor of Mia Gregory" by Emily Hageman. The play tells the story of Liv, a brilliant teenage mathematician, who struggles to understand the one person... Full story
When I seek feedback on Minnesota Twins or Vikings news and transactions, I turn to two reliable sources in Cloquet. The first is smiling Dave Haapanen, usually found stocking shelves in the cereal or salad dressing aisles at Super One. The second is Justin Dinger, who works with kids in the teen section of the Cloquet Public Library. This is Justin's story. Justin grew up in the Twin Cities - Brooklyn Center, to be exact - with his mom and dad, and two younger brothers, and attended Park... Full story
'There's a lot of nice stuff there' In 30 years of auctioneering and conducting estate sales, Steven Wesely has never gone to a second weekend for a sale. Until this weekend. "This is by far the most unique place I've had," Wesely said of the sprawling property at 3698 Bayview Dr., overlooking Little Hanging Horn Lake between Barnum and Moose Lake. Hundreds of guests visited the estate sale last weekend and, when Wesely talked about the sale on Monday, he was preparing to put out another wave... Full story
A Barnum man is facing charges after police found him passed out in a parked car earlier this month. Roger Petersen Jr., 35, was charged Friday, Jan. 20, in Sixth District Court in Carlton County with felony first-degree drug possession along with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. Bail was set at $75,000 bond or $7,500 cash. According to the criminal complaint, a Fond du Lac tribal police officer was at a gas station on Minnesota Highway 210 on Jan. 18 when a staff member told him she had observed a vehicle parked and running next to the...
The Barnum Bombers are winning again. Although that's nothing new when it comes to boys basketball, the team entered Tuesday's basketball game against Duluth Marshall searching for itself a bit. Marshall came in at 1-9, giving Barnum an opportunity to rebound from a loss last week against Browerville. Against the Hilltoppers, the Bombers indeed got back on the winning track with a 77-54 victory. "Browerville is right now the top seed in the other half of Section 5," said Barnum head coach Rich N... Full story
The man responsible for one of Carlton County’s most heinous crimes died in prison this week. Donald Blom, 73, passed away on Tuesday at a state correctional facility in Oak Park Heights, where he was serving a life sentence for the 1999 kidnapping and murder of Katie Poirier, 19, of Barnum. “It was one of those cases that will be with me forever,” Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake said Wednesday. “What that family has gone through is just unimaginable.” Poirier had been working alone when she encountered Blom, a serial offender, who forced Poi... Full story
Commissioner Susan Zmyslony was sworn in as the new commissioner from District 4 of Carlton County this week, representing the southeast portion of the county, including Carlton, Barnum, Wrenshall, Mahtowa and Holyoke. Judge Rebekka Stumme officiated over the ceremonies Tuesday, which also included the swearing in of re-elected District 2 Commissioner Marv Bodie, County Attorney Lauri Ketola and Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake. The annual county board organizational meeting saw District 1... Full story
The state’s federal legislators are weighing in on recurrent mail delays being experienced by residents throughout northeastern Minnesota. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Pete Stauber both addressed the topic last week. “During the past weeks, I have heard from many of you from all around the Northland about major disruptions in mail delivery,” said Stauber, R-Hermantown, in a Facebook post. “In some areas, people haven’t received mail in three weeks.” Klobuchar, a Democrat, wrote U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Dec. 31, urging him to do e...
Judy Kay Hoppe, 83, of Barnum passed away at home on Dec. 30, 2022, at her home. Beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, and daughter of Bill and Signe (Saukko) Pietila, and dear friend. She was born on Aug. 18, 1939, and grew up in Barnum. She married the love of her life, Bill Hoppe, on Dec. 30, 1961, at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church in Cloquet, and they were married exactly 61 years. She worked as a loan officer at the First National Bank of Cloquet for almost three decades. Judy's... Full story
County commissioners set the salary rates, per-diems, meal reimbursements and mileage for the next year at its final regular meeting of the year Tuesday. Department heads, confidential, and other non-union employees received a 2.75-percent increase in their wages for 2023. Sheriff Kelly Lake’s salary was set at $131,352 for 2023 based on a 40-hour work week at $63.15/hour. The county attorney, Lauri Ketola, the only other county elected official, was set at $144,227 at $69.34/hour based on a 40-hour work week. Peterson originally made a m... Full story
Lois Marie Johnson passed away Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022, after a 10-year courageous battle with cancer, surrounded by her family. She was born April 22, 1952, in Duluth, the second daughter of Oscar and Ailie Sunnarborg. Lois graduated from Cloquet High School in 1970, and married the love of her life, Ronald Leslie Johnson, on Dec. 16, 1972. Although Lois had aspirations of having a career, once she had children, her purpose in life changed to being a stay-at-home mother. Once Derek and Natalie... Full story
